and so are parts of Orcadia.
In protest of Linden Research, Inc.’s recent price-hike announcement, Caledon Murdann and Wyre have both joined the movement started by CoyoteAngel Dimsum. Thank you for your leadership, your Grace!
FAIL or FTW?
I’m sorry, this is bullshit
Sure, it’s nice to see that Jack Linden did actually read the comments in the forums, and it’s kind of cool that he replied to my short comment, but read his response:
SL Forums – View Single Post – Openspace Announcement Discussion with Jack Linden.
And now tell me it’s not a load of crap. A steaming pile of excrement.
This price increase has nothing to do with technical specifications or lag or user experience. This is about Linden Research wanting more money: “the pricing just wasn’t in line with how they are now being used.” Are you telling me that if I have a regular private sim or a parcel on the mainland but don’t put prims, scripts, or avatars on it, you’ll give me a price break? You mean I can rent server space/time, but if I actually use it, then I deserve to pay more?
“We believe these changes are necessary to better account for the increased load, so that we can continue to scale this product *without* making performance worse for everyone.” I’m sorry, but if this is about being able to scale the product, shouldn’t you at least be able to mention some technical improvement the 67% increase in monthly cost will provide? If this was really about poor performance “for everyone,” don’t you think there would be a few more comments in the forum from people who are looking forward to better performance in their open space sims? The vast majority of positive comments in the forum are from people who own regular private sims (by their own admission they do not own open space sims).
“It could be that with the right technical restrictions in place that a truly light use product at lower cost is viable. . . . Clearly for many people large areas of land are more attractive than prim count for example.” No shit? Really? Wow, who would have ever thought of that? Wow, like, isn’t it really amazing that Linden Research, Inc. chose to provide just such a product at the same price point as regular private sims? What a coincidence all those months ago!
“@Otenth Paderborn: Yes, we will provide guidance on what load level is reasonable for Openspaces as soon as we can.” The fact that you can’t provide it now is even more damning than your original post. If you can’t provide a benchmark for what is inappropriate, how can we take anything you say seriously? I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it didn’t cut it when Justice Stewart said it, and it certainly isn’t an appropriate position for Linden Research, Inc.
Thank you, Miss Malaprop
The brilliant Miss Malaprop, on the recent open space sim brouhaha: Shouting into the Void
I do not, myself, believe in conspiracy theories that this was all some sort of cunning plan by the Laboratory, a “bait and switch” as the phrase has it, to encourage the purchase of OpenSpace areas and then suddenly charge more for them. The main reason that I do not believe these theories is that it would imply a level of long-term planning, and successful long-term planning as well, that I consider utterly unrealistic for the Laboratory.
Linden Research, Inc. sleight of hand
Bad business practices strike again! Even if the only (only!) bad business practice is poor communication, the Lindens are continuing on their well-established path of alienating customers. What this will mean for me as a landowner and for my tenants, only time will tell. If Linden Research doesn’t back off of their announced rate increases, I suppose we’ll convert open space sims into full sims and just eat the reduced elbow room.
If the “abuse” of open space sims that Jack Linden refers to is the real problem, then Linden Research should:
- provide realistic, explicit guidelines for what appropriate use is (number of avatars? script resources?)
- provide metrics tools for use by landowners (at a minimum) and other residents
- throttle performance on open space sims (hard limits to number of avatars and script time)
Instead, they seem to be hiding a need or desire to manipulate the land market behind these technical issues, for which they propose no changes. The only actions (besides increasing their rates) that Linden Research is taking is eliminating owner/payor transfers (something I didn’t even know was possible—I suppose you needed to be an insider to get it) and providing “education” to sim owners.
If you want to comment on the change, do so in the forums. Be aware that less than 24 hours after the announcement, there are 16 pages of comments, many of them apparently from owners of full sims who dislike the competition of open space sims used for residences or businesses.
Bunnehs
Sony Bravia “Play-Doh” di Darren Walsh & Frank Budgen from khenzo on Vimeo.
(Via colourlovers, where they have other fun ads from Bravia, and cross-posted to homefries.)
Bluegrass at the Big Brass Ball
Please join me on Tuesday, 21 October, 7:30-9:30pm SLT, at the Big Brass Ball in Caledon Steam Sky City, Aft Commons. I’ll be playing both early and contemporary bluegrass on http://music2.radioriel.org.
Hat contest entry deadline extended
The entry deadline for the hat contest is now Friday, October 10. The awards party will be Saturday, October 11, 12-2pm SLT, at the Wyre Fairgrounds, http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wyre/108/208
Building community online
A fascinating article about community management at Flickr, but many of the points made in Nasty as they wanna be? Policing Flickr.com could as well be applied to virtual worlds as well.
The essence of Champ’s job, she says, boils down to defending this imprecise but holy “spirit of Flickr.” Indeed, imprecision is an art here. The list of community guidelines is an assortment of lawyer-vexing instructions like “Don’t be creepy. You know the guy. Don’t be that guy,” and “Don’t forget the children.” If you’ve spent any time online, you instantly recognize these to be meaningful and clear edicts. Champ is only half joking when she says her is responsibility is to keep things from “encroaching on Flickr’s serenity.”
Crossing borders
CaleCon (and SLCC) are not the only times people who have known each other only in virtual worlds meet in the physical world. Such contacts range from informally getting together with a group of friends to consumating relationships. Siri Woodget’s blog has a charming post written by guest blogger Andrijah Beardmore.
What I did discover is that Colleen’s hair is not quite so spiky, and that Siri is a bit more outgoing, among countless other little details. But the thing is, neither was in any way too different from the avatars they control on a daily basis. For the most part, they are the same people, even though their actions may not be the same – but then again, who does the same thing in both worlds.
Their experience is quite similar to what many of us experienced at CaleCon, and similar to what I experienced a year ago when my friends Asha, Bromo, nox, and I hung out for a weekend.